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Surprising how little publicity ECMO machines (Think heart lung machine without the heart) have had. They are rare but seem to have a much higher success rate 7
by garyclarke27 6y ago
Surprising how little publicity ECMO machines (Think heart lung machine without the heart) have had. They are rare but seem to have a much higher success rate 75% than ventilators 35% for covid ICU patients - so even though they cost twice as much $100k, they are well worth it on a cost per life saved.
- herendin2 6y agoThough I agree with you, I think this patient was receiving mechanical ventilation as well as ECMO. I don't know if they were simultaneous Edit: Another plus for ECMO is that ventilation procedure creates a serious infection risk for doctors and nurses, but ECMO doesn't. Losing a doctor costs a lot more than $100K
- rjsw 6y agoThere were reports from Italy early on that ECMO machines were important.
- imglorp 6y agoIf you need ECMO for any reason you are seriously, deathly, ill: it is a last resort with long odds. It has many complications, is expensive, and there are ethical questions to ask. Eg, http://www.bioethics.net/2019/05/is-it-time-for-the-dne-do-not-ecmo/ http://www.bioethics.net/2019/05/is-it-time-for-the-dne-do-n...
- ceejayoz 6y agoECMO uses immense amount of resources, both in scarce equipment and trained staff to monitor and manage. Great to say “this one case we won’t let die”. Useless in “we have 50k people who need this” scenarios.